VLOOKUP stands for vertical lookup and we can use to scan a column and get matching data. In this article, learn how to use VLOOKUP with 10 practical examples. You also get a free sample workbook to practice VLOOKUP.
Table of Contents
What is VLOOKUP?
VLOOKUP stands for Vertical Lookup. We can use it scan your data to find a matching value.
You can use the below syntax to write VLOOKUP.
'SYNTAX
=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number, approximate_match_ok?)
- Search_value: this is the first parameter or option for VLOOKUP. You can specify the lookup value here. It can be a typed-in value or reference to a cell value.
- In_this_data: This is where your data is. It can be on the same worksheet or in another tab. It can be a range of values (like B5:E17) or a table (like tblSales).
- return_column_number: This number tells VLOOKUP which column to extract after the result is found. Refer to below examples to better understand this.
- approximate_match_ok? This TRUE / FALSE setting tells VLOOKUP if you want an approximate or exact match for your search. In 99% of situations, I use FALSE for this, as we need EXACT matches in business situations.
VLOOKUP Explanation
Here is a simple VLOOKUP to get the sales value of Josh from my sales data in the range $B$5:$E$17. The formula returns the result of $1680.
Refer to below image to understand the concept of VLOOKUP.
'SYNTAX
=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number, approximate_match_ok?)
'EXAMPLE
=VLOOKUP("Josh", $B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
1680
EXPLANATION
Vertically looks up “Josh” in column B of the range B5:E17 and returns the exact matching value from column D (3rd column from B). Refer to the above picture and syntax to understand the concept.
VLOOKUP - 5 Essential Examples
Now that you understand the concept of VLOOKUP, let’s look at 5 essential examples of this lookup function in day-to-day business settings.
Note: All these examples use the same sales dataset as above. You can grab a copy of this file from here.
Example 1 - Basic Usage of VLOOKUP
The most basic usage of VLOOKUP is to lookup a value in a table and get corresponding matching value from another column.
In this example, we want to lookup sales of “Josh” from the sales data in the range B5:E17.
'EXAMPLE 1
=VLOOKUP("Josh", $B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
1680
Example 2 - Using Input Cell for Search Value
One simple way to make your VLOOKUP formulas powerful is by using input cell to maintain the search value. This way, everytime you need to search for a different thing, you just update the search value.
'EXAMPLE 2
'Put a person's name in cell G8, such as Jagjit
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP(G8,$B$5:$E$17,4,FALSE)
'RESULT
709
Example 3 - Searching by pattern (name begins with)
Many times, we don’t know what the full value is. We just know the first few letters. For example, looking at the sales data in range B5:E17, you want to find the sales of the person whose name begins with the value in cell G5.
For example, G5 contains Jav
In this case, we are looking for the person Javed.
'EXAMPLE 3
'Type Jav in G5
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP(G5&"*",$B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
$2277
How this “Name begins with” VLOOKUP works?
- The formula is =VLOOKUP(G5&”*”,$B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
- First let’s look at the search_value option. This is G5&”*”
- As G5 is “Jav”, this becomes Jav*
- * is a special character for VLOOKUP. It means, anything after Jav.
- So VLOOKUP looks for any name that begins with Jav and finds Javed.
- The rest is easy to understand.
POP QUIZ…
- How would you find Net Sales for the person whose name ends with sh
- Write a formula for that and share your answers in the comment section.
Example 4 - Get the entire record
Let’s say you want the entire record, not just Net Sales column (3). In this case, you can use an array as the 3rd parameter for VLOOKUP. See this powerful example.
'EXAMPLE 4
'Get entire record for Johnson
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Johnson",$B$5:$E$17,{1,2,3,4},FALSE)
'RESULT
The entire row of values for Johnson
Johnson 10 $1,540 $570
Note about using this formula:
- If you have Excel 365 or using Excel on the web, the above formula works as is.
- If you are using any older version of Excel (such as Excel 2016 / 2013 / 2010), then you should do the below steps:
- Select a range of 4 cells for your result.
- Type the formula in the very first cell.
- Then instead of pressing ENTER, press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER
Example 5 - When VLOOKUP can't find the value...
Life would be just awesome if we can always find what we want. Sadly, that is not the case. So what happens when VLOOKUP can’t find the value you want to look for?
It will return an error. #N/A error.
See below example. Read on to learn how to fix the problem.
'EXAMPLE 5
'Looking for an non-existent value
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Chandoo", B5:E17,2,FALSE)
'RESULT
#N/A
How to fix the #N/A error in VLOOKUP?
We can use the IFERROR function of Excel to handle errors with our VLOOKUP FORMULAS.
For example, you can use this formula to show a message like “Person not found” for the Example 5 above.
'EXAMPLE 5 with error handling
'Looking for an non-existent value
'Formula:
=IFERROR(VLOOKUP("Chandoo", B5:E17,2,FALSE), "Person not found")
'RESULT
Person not found
How to use VLOOKUP when you have data in a table?
VLOOKUP works great with data in tables or regular ranges. I prefer using VLOOKUP with table data as tables are easier to manage business data.
Related: Learn how to create and use Excel Tables.
Here are 3 examples of using VLOOKUP with CTRL+T Tables in Excel.
'VLOOKUP TABLE EXAMPLES
'Data is in table named tblSales
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Josh",tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result:
$1680
'Formula
=VLOOKUP(G37,tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result
$1799
'Formula
=VLOOKUP(G41&"*",tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result:
$2277
Learn more about tables in Excel:
- Tables are a very powerful and time-saving feature of Excel. Please refer to below articles to learn more.
- How to create and use tables in Excel
- Tables + VLOOKUP examples
VLOOKUP - Video Tutorial
Please refer to below video tutorial to understand how to use VLOOKUP.
Download VLOOKUP Examples - Workbook
Please download the sample workbook for this article and learn how to use VLOOKUP quickly.
What are the limitations of VLOOKUP?
While VLOOKUP is a game changer when it was originally introduced, when you look at the data challenges we all face in 2024, it suffers from many limitations. Here are the main downsides of using VLOOKUP.
- It can only lookup on the left-most column: VLOOKUP can only search on the data in left-most column of the table and return values to the right. So, if you want to find out the sales person’s name who has sales of $2,133, we can’t do that with VLOOKUP.
- We can use INDEX+MATCH or XLOOKUP (my preference) to solve this problem.
- Column Numbers: Let’s be real. Nobody refers to their data by column numbers. We think and memorize the data by what it is. So, if I want to lookup a name and get the corresponding sales, then I must translate the sales to column number for VLOOKUP. This is lame.
- We can use XLOOKUP to fix this problem.
- No Error handling: VLOOKUP doesn’t handle errors by itself. So if your lookup cannot find the value, it just comes back with #N/A. This often has a cascading effect on the charts, dashboards or reports you create.
- We can use either XLOOKUP or IFERROR to solve this problem.
- Approximate Trap: I can’t tell you how many times I accidentally leave the last parameter of VLOOKUP out and end up getting wrong results. This is because, if you forget to say FALSE at the end of VLOOKUP, you fall into the approximate trap. Your VLOOKUP RESULTS WILL BE WRONG.
- We can use XLOOKUP or be careful when writing VLOOKUPS.
My top 3 Alternatives for VLOOKUP
Let me be honest here. As of 2024, I no longer use VLOOKUP to solve my lookup problems in Excel. I use one of these alternatives depending on the nature of the job.
- XLOOKUP: Ever since XLOOKUP was launched a few years ago, it has become my go to lookup formula. It can do everything VLOOKUP does and adds many time-saving features.
- XLOOKUP can lookup both vertically or horizontally.
- XLOOKUP defaults to exact match all the time.
- It can lookup on any column and return another column (thus fixing the left column only limitation of VLOOKUP)
- It has built-in error handling mechanism.
- It works well with new Dynamic Array world of Excel.
- Power Query: We can use the MERGE Queries functionality of Power Query to lookup and get matching values for two tables quickly and efficiently. I mention this in my recent video here.
- Power Pivot: If you have two tables each holding one piece of a data puzzle and you want to answer business questions by combining both datasets, we can use Power Pivot’s relationship feature. This automatically connects both tables and let’s you synthesize data to answer queries. Learn how to use Power Pivot to replace VLOOKUPs.
In conclusion: Should you learn and use VLOOKUP?
As mentioned above, I no longer actively use VLOOKUP for my lookup problems. That said, it is a very useful formula and I recommend everyone to learn the basic syntax at the minimum.
- If you use Excel 365 or Excel on Web: Focus on learning XLOOKUP instead.
- If you also work in Power BI: Learn how to use Power Query and Power Pivot to replace LOOKUPS in your data.
- If you work with older versions of Excel: Then VLOOKUP is a must for you. Learn and use it well.
More information on VLOOKUP
Check out below resources and help to learn more about VLOOKUP and alternatives.
33 Responses to “Show Months & Years in Charts without Cluttering”
Very CooOOOoool 🙂
Would it work if I merely change the display format for the dates, or do they actually need to be retyped in that format (Nov, Dec, etc)?
ps- it's only about 34 donuts per month, or slightly more than 1 per day. Yum!
To make it work automatically when you create a chart, delete the labels above the Year and Month columns, but keep the label above the Y data (Donuts). The blank cells tell Excel that the first row and first two columns (indicated by the blanks) are special, so it uses the first row for series names an the first two columns for X axis labels.
This is better than the other kind of donut chart, but you'll soon be carrying a big donut around your midsection.
First off, thank you Chandoo for being respectful and taking out the "Jesus" comment. Not that I'd threaten to kill you, or start world-wide riots, or make you go into hiding if you didn't (as OTHERS would; wink, wink, nudge, nudge)... I just really appreciate your respectulness and consideration; so thank you. I was meaning to write you about it, but when I came to your site you'd already made the edit... so again, thank you!
Secondly, I wanna say I think there's an easier way to do what you are demonstrating. I've got a pivot chart with months of data and all I had to do was right-click the x axis and then select "format axis", under "Axis Options" there's a check-box that says "Multi-level Category Labels". The chart I was able to do this on was a pivotchart however so maybe it wouldn't be that easy for a non-pivotchart.
Anyway, love the site. Keep up the good work. Thanks also for being so open about your success, it's very encouraging and motivating.
God (aka Jesus) Bless. 🙂
Hi Chandoo - great site! Another option to save space is to simply rotate the orientation of the text by 90 degrees, so the dates read vertical rather than horizontal. However, I like the elegance of your solution also.
Hey Chandoo -- Great tip. Only yesterday I was working through some strange behaviour with formatting dates in PivotCharts. Seems the axes never want to cooperate. This is a neat and elegant solution I hadn't thought of using. May need to abandon pivotcharts to use formulas like that, but if we use dynamic named ranges, no big sacrifice.
BTW, whatever did you do to get your site blocked in China? Never heard of regime change by a grass-root spreadsheet movement. Maybe your ISP is hosting some problem sites. Chandoo.org is certainly worth it for me to fire up the VPN, but I'm sure you would lose a lot of other visitors from the middle kingdom.
Chandoo ... pls help.. the link is blocked over here... pls can you put the regular link... 🙂
@JP... Excel Axis formatting is linked to cell formatting by default. So you can just have the dates which are formatted to look like months (mmm).
@Erin: It was not my intention to mock anyone's faith or religion. I just used the word as it is quite common. I decided to remove it as I got 2 emails from readers requesting for the same.
Also, the pivot charts take pivot table groupings by default, so you need not do any of the above while making charts from pivot tables.
@Kein: I am not sure why Chinese authorities decided to block my site. I wish they would actually look at the content instead of blocking sites based on simple text matching rules.
@Kapil: The file is mirrored here: http://chandoo.org/img/d/date-axis-months-years-trick.xls
Cool, really cool...
Nice one Chandoo,
Also would like to mention abt useful method while creating dynamic charts.
In any chart where in the months keep on adding - instead of changing the range for the chart every time we add a month, we can actually format the months as dates (probably 1st of every month) still keep the format as "mmm" AND while selecting the data, we can select a huge rows (date column) once and for all, and the chart adjusts automatically with the data that we entered. So next month when I enter Dec's data, I need not change the source data of the chart, however it automatically adjusts.
Hope I made sense.!
Regards,
SS
Thanks, Chandoo! This is a great tip - one that I will definitely put to use. I typically have an axis with mmm yy format, aligned vertically, but this will definitely look a bit cleaner (except in cases where the chart is too small for the axis labels to be displayed horizontally, even without the mmm yy on one line). Thanks again!
Tom
Chandoo,
Thank you for the posts you are very diligent not to mention very helpful. I would like to know how to get the separation lines on the axis? For example your candy sales chart has longer lines separating east and west how do you format that?
Thanks for being very awesome!
-Josh
Hi Chandoo, we can look the formulas because there is a message:"Unsupported features".
Could you send a diferent Link ?
Thanks.
@SS But what if you've got formulas in the data block (i.e where you would enter static data for the month of december)? My chart now shows #N/A #N/A in the axis with no data for all future dates.
Chandoo, I've got a dynamic range set up showing #N/A errors for future dates. The MMM-DD date format format in row works fine, but when I use YYYY and MMM in two rows, the axis shows #N/A #N/A for all future dates with no data. How would you go about keeping those future months hidden?
Matt -
In order for the axis to automatically extend to the dates within the range and ignore #N/A at the end, you need a date-scale axis, and for this you need to use one column with the complete date, not two columns with year and month.
If you want to use two columns, you need to generate Names in the worksheet which define ranges only as long as the number of months. I have a review of dynamic chart approaches in http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/dynamic-chart-review/ and a whole category on my blog at http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/category/dynamic-charts/. Chandoo also has examples of his own on this site.
How do you make a dynamic chart out of this?
I can't get the axis labels range right.
I tried something like this:
=OFFSET(REPORT!$H$10:$I$10;0;0;COUNTA(REPORT!$H$10:$I$100);1)
Any idea?
Ethan -
Your offset formula defines a range 1 row in size, but the technique here requires 2 rows. Your definition should end with
;2)
instead of
;1)
Thanks Jon,
Got it working now
Great! Now, is there any way to do this directly in Powerpoint? I don't like having linked excel files, so I create the graphs right inside Powerpoint, any way to do this there? I tried and was unsuccessful.
Thanks.
Cool tip Chandoo......thanks
[...] extract year and month from dates to avoid a mess in our stock chart. Chandoo has a great post: Show Months & Years in Charts without ClutteringIn cell B2:=YEAR(D2)In cell B3:=IF(YEAR(D3)=YEAR(D2), "", YEAR(D3))Cell C2:=IF(TEXT(D2, [...]
Hi there,
I have got a data ranging for 3 years. I want to show a chart which shows Jan of 2011, 2012 and 2013 together side by side; then Feb11, Feb12 and Feb13 side by side, then Mar11, Mar12 and Mar13, and so on until December.
Please help. Thanks.
@Bilal
Do you want a number of charts next to each other as separate charts or the data next to each other in a single chart?
What type of chart were you thinking about?
Can you post your data for us to review?
Refer upload instructions at: http://chandoo.org/forum/threads/posting-a-sample-workbook.451/
Hi there
Very good solution this. I have another question on it, though. How do you format the X-axis with monthly gaps (ie, with labels "Jan 2012", "Apr", "Jul", "Oct", "Jan 2013", "Mar", etc), when you're dealing with a data series with weekly or daily data points? The Axis Options dialogue box doesn't appear to offer "Date axis" as an option under the "Axis Type" section.
I've managed to do it in one case with weekly data by setting the interval between tick marks at 13 -- the approximate number of weeks in a quarter -- to get 3-month intervals. But this wouldn't work if I wanted to show 1-month intervals, or had a more detailed daily data series to work with.
Any luck getting the dates to work on a scatter graph? I'm only getting numbers. Works fine on line graphs though.
How can we do the vice versa? i.e. on the x-axis showing year on the level 1, and months on level 2.
I wanted to build these kind of axis labels for 5 years, with year on top and months at the bottom, but it should form in such a way that the seperating lines should seperate the entire data set only at December of each year, and no lines in between any month.
@Apoorve
Just re-arrange the columns
You need to put a space in all cells where you don't want a year
See the attached file
http://chandoo.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Chart-for-Apoorve.xlsx
Unfortunately you don't get any control over lines its all or nothing.
Hello - the link seems to be broken:
http://cid-b663e096d6c08c74.office.live.com/view.aspx/Public/date-axis-months-years-trick.xls
Regards.
Like!!
Three times already today I have used this website and saved a ton of work time in researching excel tricks.
Suggestion: Why not have a "like" or "this article was useful to me" button. That way you can see what is most useful by your users and maybe generate more content based on those "likes".
Just saying. Thanks again and you're doing a great job!
Thanks for the tip. However, I couldn't download your file. The link is broken.
Thank You for taking the time to post this tip. I hope that you have a blessed day.
The link does not work properly and I'm not sure how to actually get the graph to display like this, its frustrating me a tonne. I cant work out what to google either to find an answer elsewhere! 🙁
Is this possible with waterfall chart. Data hereunder -
Years Abbrevation Amt
2020 BEG 2,006
REV 1,950
EMP 1,058
DM (3,244)
OOE 1,078
OPMT 182
AB (638)
END 2,392
2021 REV 8,534
EMP 67
DM (2,142)
OOE (3,120)
OPMT 510
AB 1,008
END 7,249